Bloor-Perth Underpass Project

Location: Railway underpass on Bloor between Dundas W. and Perth

Date photo taken: 19 April 2015

As part of GO Transit's Georgetown South improvements, the rail underpass on Bloor Street has been transformed with colour. Metrolinx and the city's StreetARToronto program worked together on the project, coming up with a short-list of artists and then consulting with the community before choosing the winning concept. The winning proposal, by Angel Carrillo, suggested the involvement of a large number of street artists, all working with aerosol paints. The north wall would be transformed into a showcase gallery, with each section of the wall being assigned to a different artist. In a similar manner, the south wall will feature the 26 letters of the alphabet, each interpreted by someone different. The north wall was painted over the weekend of April 18 & 19th. The south wall will be completed over a weekend in May.

Earth Witch

Location: West Toronto Railpath, on construction hoarding by the Bloor GO Station
Date photo taken: 15 April 2015

This post is in honour of Earth Day. When I saw this mural, my first thought wasn't witch, it was Mother Nature. I'm not sure where my head was that day, but the feeling still sticks. Perhaps it's the flowing green hair. Or that look, as she plots what to send us next.

This stretch of the railpath features work by a number of Toronto street artists. This piece is by Shalak, a female artist who uses a lot of colour and likes to portray animals and strong women in her work. It's always a good day when I come across something by her I haven't seen before. If you want to learn more about the artist, I really enjoyed her interview article on Street Art Bio.

Lambs!

Location: Riverdale Farm
Date photo taken: 13 April 2015

It seems like spring is finally here. The beautiful sunny weather and warmer days have started to coax some colour back into gardens across the city, but flowers aren't all that spring traditionally brings. It's also the season for cute baby animals and the city run parks around town offer a chance to see them up close. Riverdale Farm has an adorable collection of Cotswold lambs that were born in mid-March. Not to be outdone, the High Park Zoo has a rambunctious bunch of Barbary sheep lambs. They have also just welcomed Khione, a Highland calf. If you haven't seen one before, baby Highlands are some of the cutest things out there. Check out the Friends of High Park Zoo Facebook page if you don't believe me. Or go see for yourself.

Jazz Raccoon

Location: Queen St. W. at St. Patrick

Date photo taken: 1 April 2015

Image #3 in the Traffic Signal Box Series

This jazz loving raccoon sits outside longtime live music venue The Rex. Not so long ago, this space hosted a smiling fuschia grizzly bear which artist Jeff Blackburn painted as part of the Outside the Box project back in 2013. Based on the number of images posted online of the box, the bear was incredibly popular. This might explain why, when the city totally upgraded the box with new equipment and a new shell, they asked Blackburn to create something new. He chose to channel the spirit of Miles Davis in a very Toronto way. Love it.

Blue Jays Way

Location: King and Blue Jays Way
Date photo taken: 12 May 2014

Back in 1993 the Toronto Blue Jays won their second World Series in a row. To honour that achievement the city renamed a street, or to be more specific, a part of a street, after the team. The Jays played in the SkyDome at the base of Peter Street. Wayne Gretzky's Restaurant, slightly further up Peter Street, petitioned the city to have the southern stretch of the street renamed. To accomplish the transition they even agreed to mount a plaque on the side of the restaurant commemorating Peter Russell, after whom the street was originally named.

On Monday April 6, the Blue Jays open their 39th season, although they won't be coming home to the Rogers Centre (how names do change!) until April 13th.